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Avraham Ravitz, an influential ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmaker who served in Israel's parliament for 20 years, died Monday in Jerusalem. The 75-year-old Ravitz suffered from a heart condition and had been hospitalized since early January.

The Hebron Massacre refers to the mass murder of 67 Jews on 23 and 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by false rumors that Jews were massacring Arabs in Jerusalem and seizing control of Muslim Holy Places.

In America, the flare-up in anti-Semitism is somehow related to the ascension of President Donald Trump. But just what is the connection? Trump's daughter Ivanka even converted to Judaism and he has 'three beautiful Jewish grandchildren'. However, there is another way of looking at it. The new President is keeping his word about cracking down on Muslims at large. But in advancing this highly controversial policy, the President has run afoul of the US Constitution, as was pointed out to him by a federal judge. Nonetheless, he may have sent unintentionally a viral message to violent anti-Semites, who may be now saying to themselves:

'Look at what Trump is doing to the Muslims; he not only talks, he does something about them! We must get off our asses and also do something about the Jews. Hell, they've even infiltrated Trump's family for Christ's sake!'

The IDF court-martial convicting IDF Sergeant Elor Azaria guilty of manslaughter for shooting dead a captured Palestinian terrorist has sent shock waves throughout Israel. This time the potential target is none other than IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Overnight Israel's top soldier turned, in the eyes of some Right wingers, from an admired commander to a subject of controversy. And why is that? Simply because he reprimanded Azaria for shooting to death a wounded Palestinian prisoner in Hebron last March. After the verdict in the drawn-out trial, Right wing rabble-rousers clashed with Israeli police outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, chanting in Hebrew:

Israel's Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has just made the biggest mistake of his political career. He has forced the resignation of the popular Defense Minister Moshe 'Bogie' Ya'alon, who has also resigned from the Knesset and threatens to challenge Netanyahu for 'the national leadership' in the future. This is nothing less than one of the biggest political bombshells in Israel's history.

In just one week, two signs of the times in a new, emerging Middle East:

1. Russia keeps its word to supply Iran with sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, just dandy for shooting down Israeli jets that may try bombing Iranian nuclear weapons sites in the future.

2. Egypt transfers two strategic islands to Saudi Arabia to solidify their cooperation after U.S. signals they are on their own. Israel signs on to the emerging pact as a silent partner.

The writing has been on the wall for Saudi Arabia and Egypt. By closing the Iranian nuclear deal with the Ayatollahs, U.S. President Barack Obama has signaled to Riyadh and Cairo that they now occupy a lower place on America's Middle East totem pole. So naturally these two leading Sunni Muslim states are closing ranks to face their bitter Shiite enemy, Iran.

Was the killing of a wounded Palestinian terrorist, who had just stabbed an IDF soldier, justified or not? The case has turned into both a domestic and international furor. Not all the facts are in as the IDF's military police and prosecutors continue their investigation. Here are the facts up to this point, and as the saying goes, 'the jury is still out'.

The French leader has ordered his sole aircraft carrier to head urgently for Syria to reinforce the French jets that carried out the first coalition air strike against the Daesh oil facilities. Income from the oil funds 50% of its operations in Syria, Iraq, Sinai, and Europe. But the response of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was to abort Canada's combat role against Daesh in the Middle East. At a time when the Free World nations should rally to the aid of France, Trudeau has declared: 'Count Canada out!'

The Palestinian 'Intifada of Knives' has entered a new phase. It has broadened to include more cases of Palestinian drivers deliberately trying to harm Israelis by running them over. After the initial shock of coping with young Palestinian killers armed with knives and meat cleavers, Israel launched a series of preventative steps. The current wave of sporadic but deadly Palestinian attacks was 'inspired' by President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas, and the Palestinian media. They whipped up a Muslim rage over false charges that Israel was planning to take control of the al Aqsa mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

A young Palestinian wakes up in the morning, or maybe on the spur of the moment, and decides to attack Israelis. He, or she, takes a butcher knife or a sharpened screw-driver or makes a Molotov cocktail and then goes looking for some Israelis to kill. Their preferred target is an Israeli soldier in uniform or an ultra-orthodox Jew dressed in black or wearing a skull-cap - that's to prevent the terrorist from attacking another Palestinian by mistake. The less ambitious rely on forming a gang of ten, twenty or more who hurl big rocks to smash and stop Israeli cars and maybe lynch the driver. In one case, they almost succeeded before a lone woman, although injured, managed to get away - in this case driving for her life! These lone-wolf attacks have suddenly escalated into eight or more on the same day. Naturally, Israeli and Palestinian radio and TV stations carried vivid accounts of the almost hourly attacks. This may have led to a 'copy-cat' phenomenon among teen-age Palestinians, while arousing alarm among Israelis. But the main source is to be found elsewhere.

'Hamas is responsible, Hamas will pay!' Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has warned that Israel is about to take off the gloves, after the bodies of three Israeli youths were found near Hebron, a hotbed of Hamas terrorism on the West Bank. After the massive 18-day search, the bodies of Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach were uncovered in a hole. Two suspected Hamas terrorists from the Hebron area, named as Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha, are believed responsible. The manhunt continues for the two suspects, who are believed to be hiding out in the West Bank. Apparently, pretending to be religious Jews, the two killers gave a lift to the three hitchhiking Israelis and then shot them dead when Gil-ad Shaar tried to contact the Israel police on his cell phone. A police recording of the call indicates all three were shot dead in the car where bullet casings were found.

On the first day of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah in December 1917, the Battle of Jerusalem resulted in the city of Jerusalem falling to British forces led by General Allenby, after 400 years under Turkish rule.

I recently read a hundred-page book by a wonderful American historian who passed away nearly 50 years ago. His name was Will Durant and he wrote many books. He wrote an eleven volume history of civilization, but at the end of his life, he wrote a hundred-page book, The Lessons of History. You should read it. Every line is carved from the stone of truth, and I will give you the bad news and the good news.

The bad news is that when you finish reading this book, you understand that in history, greater numbers rule. They matter. But here is the good news. On page 17, if I am not mistaken, he mentions that there may be exceptions to this rule and that through the unification of a cultural force, that's what he called it, the odds could be overcome. He gives the State of Israel as an example of such an exception.

On the quiet Sabbath eve of March 11th, two Palestinian terrorists penetrated the Israeli settlement of Itamar on the West Bank and literally slaughtered five members of the Fogel family, including two young boys and a four month old baby girl. Israeli security forces have mounted a manhunt for the killers while also deploying to prevent incensed settlers from retaliating against Palestinians. The atrocity now jeopardizes the relative quiet on the West Bank and prospects for any kind of progress in the peace process. Analyst David assesses some of the ramifications.

There is still no solution in sight to the tug-of-war between Israel and the Palestinians over the expiry of Israel's self-imposed building freeze at Israeli settlements in Judea & Samaria (West Bank). The Israeli government says construction will be resumed after the Sept.26th deadline - if it is, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatens to walk out of the current peace talks with Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The U.S. has been prodding Netanyahu to extend his 'building suspension' but the PM's Right-wing coalition colleagues are demanding that he keep his word to send the bulldozers back to work. Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi is preparing for 'all contingencies' including a possible renewed wave of Palestinian violence on the West Bank.

Both Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have come away from the Washington summit in an upbeat mood. Back home in the Middle East, their critics on both sides will be asking: 'Just what did he concede at the summit?' IsraCast analyst David Essing says the stage may have been set for both Netanyahu and Abbas to take some fateful decisions in the coming year with the U.S. acting as adjudicator. Meanwhile, the Arab world appears ready to support a resolution of the conflict while Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah are enraged and trying to inflame the Arab world against the current peace move.

Recently Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met President Barack Obama in the White House, on July 6th it will be the turn of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to the London based Al- Hayat newspaper, Abbas has now presented the U.S. with a series of proposals starting with Israeli acceptance of the future borders for a Palestinian state. However, Netanyahu has declared he would discuss Palestinian proposals only within the framework of direct negotiations not in the current 'proximity talks' being brokered by special U.S. envoy George Mitchell. IsraCast analyst David Essing says Abbas is seeking U.S. agreement on the final borders for a Palestinian state as a pre-condition for direct negotiations with Israel.

Less than twenty-four hours after the crash of Capt. Assaf Ramon, Israelis were trying to grasp what has become not only a national but also a painful personal tragedy. Capt. Assaf Ramon, the son of national hero Col. Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut killed in the Columbia spaceship disaster, had also been killed and while training as a fighter pilot. He had been following in his father's footsteps, but no one had dared to think that Assaf would also be killed on duty. That would be too much.

The Israeli election primaries moved into high gear amid escalating settler violence in Hebron and Palestinian rocketing from Gaza. This sudden shift, above and beyond its security implications, may provide Labor party leader Ehud Barak with a 'make or break' opportunity in his role as defense minister. IsraCast assesses the evolving situation against the backdrop of Hebron and Gaza - further reports will also analyze the Likud and Kadima strategies for the February 10th election.